Hope (Janto Fanfiction)
by PresidentTrevor
Summary: Imagine Torchwood, the group of misfits who hunt aliens. Imagine how much danger they put themselves in every day. Then add a child to that pile of worries. And you have a problem.
1. chapter 1

Jack kissed Ianto softly on his forehead as they laid down to sleep. The bed was small but it meant they were closer together, and warm. He could feel every beat of the welsh boys heart, hear every breath. It comforted him, knowing that whilst he lay here he would know his lover was alive and safe. They were in the bunker under Jacks office. It was cold and bare but he never spent any time down there, seeing as he never slept.

Ianto shifted his body, positioning his head onto Jacks chest. They were both shirtless, despite the cold atmosphere that surrounded them. This room wasn't the best place to make love but it was the only room in the hub with a bed so they had to make do.

Jack closed his arms around Ianto, ready to pull him into a kiss, but a loud BANG shocked them. The sound vibrated throughout the whole of the hub before making it to the hub, making it sound like more of a dull metal thud than a clang. The pair both jumped up and looked at eachother.

"What on Earth.." Ianto rubbed his eyes as he swung his legs over the side of the bed. Jack leapt up and grabbed the two shirts that had been strewn on the floor during a heated moment earlier that night.

Nervously, the climbed out of the bunker and made their way towards the front of the hub; Ianto's fake desk front. A cold draft hit them as they climbed the stairs, like someone had opened the door then quickly shut it again.

"Something doesn't feel right," Jack grabbed a gun from the rack and so did Ianto. He then pulled open the door to the shop, drawing his gun as he stepped in. But what they saw wasn't an alien or monster intent on destroying Torchwood.

It was a baby.

A baby, wrapped in a bundle of blankets and laying in a moses basket.

Ianto giggled and disgarded his gun on the floor "Were we expecting a baby?" He chuckled nervously as he crouched down next to the basket.

Jack watched as his lover carefully scooped the baby up into his loving arms, cradeling it with immense delicacy.

"You seem... experienced," Jack put his arm round Ianto's hips, pulling him into a gentle hug.

"I uses to look after Mica and David - My neice and nephew - a lot when they were this age, pickes up a few tricks,"

The baby smiled as it looked up to Jack, it's bright blue eyes gleaming in the dim light.

"There's only one reason someone would leave a baby with Torchwood," Jack went behind the desk and picked up the phone "I'm gonna call Owen in, to examine the baby,"

Ianto kissed the baby's soft forehead, breathing in that refreshing baby smell, the one he'd missed from when he'd babysat his sister's kids. He'd always secretly wanted to be a father, but the Torchwood lifestyle had never left room for that option.


	2. Chapter 2

"What you have here," A tired looking Owen took his stethoscope off and carefully passed the baby back to Ianto "Is a healthy, three month old female time lord, according to our DNA profiler,"

Ianto let out a small gasp but Jack didn't seem surprised.

"So this is the doctors daughter then?" Owen yawned as he started to pack up his equipment.

"Well, there's a 50% chance that it's his," Jack sounded slightly worried as he leant back against the wall "And a 50% chance that it could be the masters,"

The baby started to cry at the mention of that name, screwing up her little red face as she bawled. Ianto tried to calm her down by gently jogging her up and down on his hip, like he'd seen mums do on the street.

"Shh, it's okay, you're safe," His attempts to hush the infant failed as she screamed even louder. Eventually Jack caved in and took her into his arms. Almost instantly she calmed down as he rocked her back and forth. It'd been a long time since he'd held a baby and in all honesty, he wasn't sure if he wanted to.

Owen tapped his foot impatiently "Do I have permission to go back home and sleep?" Jack nodded and the young doctor quickly dashed off, not really itching to spend anymore time with a baby.

Jack quietly made his way up to his office, Ianto in tow, and fetched a wooden box from under his desk. He opened it to reveal baby clothes, mostly pink. They all looked used but still wearable.

"These are left over from my- my own daughters childhood. She's all grown up now," His voice wobbled, signifying to Ianto that he didn't want to talk about it. He reached out with one shakinb hand to grab a light pink babygrow. Holding it up made many lost memories flash through his mind. Shivering, he brushed them aside, placing the babygrow back on his desk "Um, we may need some nappies, and some milk,"

Chuckling to himself, Ianto turned to leave, knowing it was his duty as the resident "Butler" to go shopping. But before he left the room, he stopped and turned back round to Jack.

"Are we keeping her then?"

Jacks heart skipped a beat. He'd been hoping they'd avoid that question. The Torchwood life was no life for a child, but in the few minutes he'd spent with the baby they'd bonded. There was no way he could hand her over to someone else now.

"Yes," He said, his face broke into a huge smile "But she needs a name, she can't just be "The Torchwood baby","

The welsh boy pondered for a while before answering "What about Hope? Because she's bringing Hope to a group of people who probably won't live that long, well, except you, but-"

Jack shushed him "Hope it will be then," He looked down at the now sleeping baby "Sweet dreams, Hope, Sweet dreams."


	3. Chapter 3

The crimson haired girl pulled open the door with a smile fixed on her face.

"Hello!" She beamed at Ianto, who was standing there, Hope's car seat in one hand, her bag in the other. It had been three months since the baby arrived at Torchwood and nothing had gone wrong, yet. The girl bent down and ruffled Hope's blonde mop.

"Hello Hope!" Hope giggled as her babysitter pulled a silly face.

"I'll be back at three to pick her up then," As he handed her car seat over he noticed the time on his watch. Rather clumsily he passed the bag to the girl then threw a wad of money to her "Thanks, Lois, as always,"

"No worries!" She responded as he dashed off back down the stairs of the apartment block. Lois Joseph was 21 and had recently moved to Cardiff from Dorset to go to University. And of course, like every university student, she was broke. The only ways she could make money was by babysitting other people's kids. Hope was her favourite child to look after. She never cried or threw up, she just played nicely or sat watching TV in her car seat, meaning Lois could get some work done.

She closed the door, her beautiful long hair swishing behind her as she made her way into the small lounge. The television was already on, playing some weirds kids show about a car with eyes - Brum or something - that Hope seemed to like. Not bothering to take her out of the car seat, Lois positioned the now six-month-old baby in front of the telly before grabbing her laptop and switching on. Finally, she could finish her coursework. It was due in tomorrow, after all.

When lunch rolled around, Lois brought Hope into the kitchen and unstrapped her from the seat, humming "Ode to Sleep"

by Twenty One Pilots as she placed the baby in the high chair.

"Let's see what your daddy packed for your lunch today!"

Rummaging through the bag she found half a plastic pot full of that weird mushy baby food. She placed it on the table and grabbed a spoon from the drawer. Tired, she sat down on the creaky wooden chair next to Hope.

"Here comes the airplane! Neeeeowwn!" Hope shrieked with laughter as Lois spoon fed her the disgusting mush "And here comes a train, choo choo!"

KNOCK KNOCK

A sharp knock at the door distracted Lois from feeding Hope as she jumped up to answer it, not bothering to look through the peephole at who it was before she unbolted the door and pulled it open.

Standing before her was a man, in a black hoody and jeans with bleached hair and a scarred face. He looked tired. Even more so than her, and she'd been up all night doing coursework for her music course at Uni.

"Can I help you?" She asked politely, a little peeved that she'd had to stop feeding Hope, who was laughing to herself in the background.

The man cleared his throat "Yes, I've come to collect that-" He leaned over Lois's shoulder and pointed to Hope "Child there,"

Nervous, Lois gulped "You're not her dad. I'm not handing her over to a stranger,"

He growled and got close the young woman's face "I AM her dad, give her to me!"

His eyes seemed to glow red, causing Lois to jump back in horror. Acting on impulse, she slammed the door in his face and quickly bolted and latched it, something she never really bothered to do. He continued to shout, but Lois blocked it out, running over to Hope and pulling her out of the highchair. The man was pounding on the door now, and that door wasn't very strong.

"LET ME IN!"

Heart racing, she ran into her small bedroom and locked the door, then dragged her makeup table in front of it. Her phone was charging on her bed, so she grabbed it and climbed into her big walk in wardrobe, pulling the doors shut behind her. Hope had gone silent now, a look of concern staining her face. Hands shaking, Lois punched 999 into her iPhone and held it up to her ear.

"Police please!" She whispered to the operator as she stroked Hope's soft face, hoping to God she wouldn't start crying and give away their hiding spot.

"I'm at apartment 19 in Y Garreg Court, Cwmamtaff avenue," She cried quietly into the phone before the person on the other end had the chance to talk "There's a man at the door and I'm with a baby - Hope, Hope Harkness I'm babysitting her. I'm Lois Joseph. Please,"

The woman on the other end reassured her that officers were on their way but to stay on the line.

"Can you give me Hope's parents address?" She asked, trying to keep Lois talking to calm her down.

"It's um, oh god I don't know. It's near Mermaid Quay, I think. Her dad's names are Jack Harkness and Ianto - oh god he's at the door!"

She dropped the phone and covered hers and Hope's mouth in an attempt to keep quiet. All she could hear was the wood of her bedroom door being kicked in. The makeup desk fell and glass shattered everywhere - Her perfume bottles.

"I know you're in here, Lois," The man snarled "And I know you have my daughter. She was stolen from me you know, give her back and no harm will be done,"

The floorboards creaked as he moved around and Lois listened carefully to his footsteps. They circled around the small room, coming to a stop outside the wardrobe.

"I can smell you both," He laughed "Fear, it's a distinctive but brilliant taste. And Hope, well, she smells just like me. A time lord,"

Confused, Lois stayed still, holding Hope tightly to her chest.

"On the count of three, I'm gonna open this door,"

Her pulse quickened and chest tightened. She was gonna die.

"One,"

She'd let Hope's dad's down, she hadn't protected her.

"Two,"

She clenched her eyes shut, ready to face whatever came next,"

"Three!"

The door was ripped clean off and all that could be heard by the still operating policewoman on the phone was the terrified screams of a terrified girl and the distant wailing of a baby who'd been snatched.


	4. Chapter 4

Jack gripped at the hair on the back of Ianto's head as they engaged in a deep and passionate kiss. It was hot and humid in the store cupboard but it was the only place that locked and didn't have a see through door. They were pressed up close against each other in the dark and Jack felt a smirk draw its way across his face. He and Ianto hadn't gotten the chance to do anything since Hope had been brought into their lives. If they weren't looking after her they were doing the work they should've been doing when looking after her or they were busy saving the planet. But surely the planet could wait for 10 or 15 minutes before it needed to be saved again?

In a confused tangled of hands, Ianto's shirt came off but as his hands travel up Jacks' chest a buzzing sound broke them apart. Ianto's phone was ringing. Fumbling around in the dark trying to get it from the shelf he managed to knock off several folders and sheets of paper, sending them flying onto the floor. Jack put one arm round Ianto's waist and used the other to guide his hand to his mobile.

"Your night vision isn't as good as it was," He chuckled in his American accent as Ianto flipped the phone open, pressing the answer button before holding it to his ear.

"Ianto speaking," He listened as a frantic voice on the other end sobbed the bad news. His face falls "Okay, we'll be right there,"

He shoved the phone into his pocket and scrambled around on the floor for his phone, tears welling in his eyes.

"Ianto?" Jack said worriedly "Ianto whats wrong?"

"It- It's Hope... And Lois... Something happened! She's been kidnapped! That was Lois's neighbour," He stumbled on his words. Jack grabbed his coat and unlocked the cupboard door.

"GWEN!" He shouted at the top of his voice "OWEN! TOSH! GET TO THE SUV!"

They arrived at the scene merely 10 minutes after Ianto got the call. There was three police cars and an ambulance there already.

"Oh God no," Jack mumbled to himself as they neared the taped off scene. Lying on the pavement in a pool of blood and shattered glass was the charred and burnt body of Lois Joseph. Jack only knew it was her because of what remained of her naturally crimson hair, which was still smoking as they stood there.

Owen crouched down beside the body, his face pale. He'd dealt with some bad things but this was possibly the most horrendous thing he'd seen in his time with Torchwood. The smell of burning flesh both gagged and blinded him as he pulled on the plastic gloves and started to examine the body.

"There doesn't seem to be any indication that she was set on fire. Theres no.. It's... It's like she just... Spontaneously combusted or something, as she came flying out of that 4th floor window," He stood up and backed away from the body, feeling sick and ready to throw up whenever he wanted.

Tosh stared at a small gadget that she held in her hands "There's been rift activity, about half an hour ago or so, something came through the rift, killed her, then disappeared. Presumably with Hope," Her voice wobbled with worry. Jack didn't say anything, just started to walk down the path, seeing where it lead to. It wound round the block of flats and ended up going into a forest. He turned to Ianto and Gwen "What's in those woods? Do they lead anywhere?"

Gwen thought for a second "I'm pretty sure they lead to a clearing with a football pitch. The kids at the local secondary school used to use it but it's all fenced off now,"

"Right, Ianto, go get statements and help Tosh trace the rift energy, Pinpoint exactly where whatever it is came through, Gwen, with me," He took a deep breath "We will find Hope, okay, we owe it to her. Her lifes screwed up enough already,"

Ianto nodded and jogged back over to Tosh as Gwen and Jack started running through the dark woods. The trees were so dense, so packed together that they shrouded the path completly in darkness, like a warning. The pair, using Gwens phone as a flashlight, started sprinting towards the opening. Jacks heart was beating fast. He was nervous. Prehaps the most nervous he'd every been in his life. This was his daughter. His 6-month-old daughter who'd spent half of her life in constant danger just by being near him. And now she, well, he didn't want to think about what she might be going through. He felt a hand on his shoulder as they slowed down, approaching the clearing.

"It's okay Jack," Gwen said, her eyes tearing up too. Hope had been like a daughter to her too, and most likely to Owen and Tosh too "We'll find her, we have to,"

"But what if it's too late? As soon as that child entered my line of sight she was in danger. I should've foreseen this. Should've put her somewhere safe,"

"Where else would she be safe? What if this had happened and she'd been with an ordinary family? They would have no clue what to do, would they? You were the safest place for her - you still are, you -" She was cut off by Ianto coming through on the Bluetooth.

"Jack? Whatever came through the rift, they have the same DNA as Hope, they're related,"


	5. Chapter 5

So, whatever had taken Hope was related to her. Most likely her mother or father. It couldn't be the Doctor, Jack thought as he climbed through the dilapidated fence that aimed to keep kids out of the clearing.

Before him stood a house, which he was certain hadn't been there before. It was tall enough to be seen from over the top of the trees, and Gwen hadn't mentioned it. And she knew pretty much everything about the local area.

"You didn't know anything about this, did you?" He asked her as they slowly advanced towards it. She shook her head.

"No, I've never seen it before- it must be new,"

"Doesn't look new," Jack muttered to himself.

They'd reached the door now. It was rotting and painted a crimson red, reminding him of Lois's hair. Jack gulped. Another person who perished because of him.

Gwen pushed the door open to reveal a long, dark corridor, covered in mold and smashed glass. Cautiously, Jack stepped in, followed by Gwen, trying to avoid the sharp shards. It was dead silent, the sound of their footsteps echoing throughout the wooden halls. There were no doors on any of the rooms and the pair made quick in inspections into each one, nit seeing anything worth investigating. The last room was what would've been the kitchen- if it hadn't been almost completely destroyed. The only thing still standing was the table. Abd strapped to it-

Gwen wretched and turned away, but Jack advanced towards it. It was a dog - a husky looking thing - with its guts spilled out. Hands shaking, he reached out to stroke it's matted fur. A small whimper came from its mouth. It was still alive.

"What kind of sick bastard would do this to you?" He said in a soothing voice, taking his gun from his holster "I'm so so so sorry, pup,"

The shot rang out through the house, droplets of blood splashing onto Jacks' face.

"Upstairs, quick, if someone is here they would've heard that," Gwen turned and ran upstairs, still not having said anything. She figured nothing she said could help Jack feel any more at ease about the situation.

The rooms upstairs had doors, and Gwen started kicking each one open as Jack joined her upstairs. They were just empty bedrooms, filled with dust and bugs. There was one door left, at the end of the hall, that stood out from the others. It had been painted a light pink, HOPES ROOM, scrawled on the front in a thick sharpie.

Panic rising in his throat, Jack jiggled the door handle. Locked He moved back, making way for Gwen.

BAM!

The door went flying back, revealing a large, painted pink room, with a white crib in the middle. A man stood over it. Holding Hope.

"Hello Jack," The man said without even looking up "Have you come to steal my daughter again?"

Stepping slowly forwards, Jack replied "We didn't steal her in the first place - she was left with us,"

The man turned to face Jack, a huge smiled plastered on his face.

Even know Jack knew who it was, and had done for a while, he let out a small gasp. It was just a surprise to see that face again.

The Master.

"Just, hand Hope over to me, and we can work this out," Jack said, trying to ration with who he remembered clearly as a lunatic who tortured him for days on end.

He laughed "Why? Do you not trust me with my own daughter?"

Hope started to cry, making Jacks' heart ache. He longed to hold her again, to hug her, despite having done so only this morning. He hadn't realised how much he loved that child until now.

Angered, Jack stepped closer yet again "She doesn't like you, she doesn't trust you,"

The master snorted "Hah! I don't need her to trust me. She's just a baby, she'll grow and trust who she wants when she's ready. But she's important. She's carrying the timelord genes. She's special. One of a kind,"

"What do you me- Oh," Jack came to a sudden realisation "She's half human isn't she,"

"Yes, making her the start of a whole new race. I have no idea what traits of human or timelord she inherited, but I know she's powerful. More so than either of them,"

"So you don't know if she can regenerate?"

Hope started crying more, reaching out to Jack. The Master put her down in the crib and took out a gun. Jack started to run over but was stopped by a bullet spinning through the flesh of his left shoulder, making him stumble back onto the floor.

"Jack!" Gwen ran over and helped him to his feet. He warned her to stay back. She wasn't expendable. He was.

Blood pulsating from his wound, Jack staggered forward, feeling his body start to repair itself. The master laughed, moving his gun from pointing in Jacks direction so he was aiming it at Hope.

"Any closer and I'll shoot her, then the Welsh one,"

"But- you don't know if she'll regenerate!" Gwen spoke up, both her voice and body shaking, showing how worried she was.

"Well then," The Master chuckled "Let's find out!"


	6. Chapter 6

The sound of a baby's desperate cry filled the surrounding area as a bright light erupted from the crib. The Master, Jack, and Gwen were all thrown back by the sheer force of the power, the walls crumbling around them. The house was going to collapse.

The light faded and Jack was finally able to see what had happened to Hope. But what stood before him in the crib, crying her eyes out, was not a baby. It was a small child, covered in blood but with no wounds. Before the Master could do anything, Jack had removed his coat, wrapping it around the child and started to run downstairs, Gwen in tow. The wooden floorboards snapped underneath his weight as he ran, splinters forcing their way into both Jack and Hope's faces. Gwen was shielded, as she was right behind Jack. Neither of them stopped to think about the Master. They just kept running until they were a safe distance away from the falling house.

CRASH

The whole house fell to the ground, making Hope cry even more. Jack didn't know if it was because of the noise, or because of the Master, but he was just glad she was safe now. They waited for a half hour or so with some medics, checking Hope over for any serious injuries. The Master never appeared. He was gone. For now.

Back at the Hub, Jack and Ianto sat on the desk, watching Hope play with some toy cars Tosh had bought her. Ianto leaned his head against Jacks.

"It's weird, you know," He sighed "That's 5 years we missed of her life, 5 years we can never get back,"

Jack planted a soft kiss on Ianto's cheek "But it's also 5 fewer years of her being in danger, and at least we don't have to deal with the nappies anymore,"

"That's the thing, she's not going to know anything about being 5. She's been a baby her whole life up until now. Can she even speak?"

"Hope?" Jack said, hopping down from his desk and crouching down to her level. She was wearing a slightly too big red polo shirt and denim dungarees over the top, her already shoulder length long hair being clipped out the way by a small pink butterfly supplied by Gwen. Jack smiled at her cuteness "Hello there Hopey,"

"Hi Jack," She replied in a small and shy voice, holding up a little blue car "Play?"

Accepting the car, Jack sat down cross-legged opposite his daughter "Yeah, I'm sure Cardiff can wait to be saved for a while whilst I play cars with my little girl, can't it Hope?"

She giggled, holding up another car to Ianto "Play too?"

Blushing at her adorable voice and face, Ianto sat down too, next to Jack, and took the car from Hope's little hands. For the next 15 or so minutes, the three played a complicated game of cars, organising them by colour, shape, and size in a car park made from pencils and books about Alien profiling. It was a break from the danger. And Jack and Ianto were having fun. More fun than they'd had for a while.


	7. Chapter 7

It was three days after the ordeal with the master and it was Lois's funeral. Jack dreaded it. Not because he didn't want to pay his respects to the dead girl, but because he didn't want to have to face her family. It was his fault she died, and going to the funeral would only make him feel worse about it. They couldn't have an open casket because there was nothing left to show.

"Ready?" Ianto asked, popping his head round the corner of the office door, Hope on his hip. Jack straightened his tie and cleared his throat.

"Yeah, let's go," He walked out and took Hope from Ianto. She was dressed in a little white shirt and tie, with a pinafore over the top "You look cute Hopey!"

The now apparently 5-year-old didn't laugh like she usually did. She stayed quiet and rested her head on Jack's shoulder, eyes shut.

Slowly, Jack grabbed his coat and slipped it on, then started walking through the hub. Owen, Tosh and Gwen weren't coming. There were some important admin jobs to be done and plus, they didn't really know Lois, and felt like the family probably wouldn't want them there.

At the funeral

"My daughter, Lois Joseph, was the light of my life," Cried a tall skinny lady, Mrs Joseph. She stood at the front of the church, mascara running down her red cheeks "When she was a kid, she always dreamt of going to University away from home, wanting to study music and medicine. I didn't want her to go, obviously, but when she left college she was so full of ambition, so full of life, that I had to let her. All she wanted to do was save people. Whether it be through her music or as a doctor it didn't matter. I regret letting her go now. I regret letting her take those loans out. I regret driving her there, helping her unpack and settle in. I regret leaving her there. Because you know what? I blame myself, even if I was miles away in Dorset when it happened. I was her mother. She was my responsibility. And because I left some sicko decided to burn my baby alive," She paused, unable to speak through her sobs. Jack's heart was in pieces. It was his fault, not hers.

Mrs Joseph stepped down from the podium, shoulders shaking violently. A young boy hugged her before stepping up himself. Neither Jack nor Ianto recognised him, but he appeared to be related to Lois somehow.

"Hi," He coughed awkwardly "I'm Jayden, and I'm Lois's cousin. I just wanted to let Lois know how much I loved her, and I'm not too good with words but I'll try. Growing up, Lois was the only person who would listen to me, whether it was on the phone, through text or in person, she would just listen to whatever I had to say. She was like a best friend, despite being 5 years older than me. And I don't know about you, but I wish I'd listened to her more. She was murdered, and maybe if I'd listened she'd have told me something. Something that could've saved her," Jayden wiped his brown and looked shyly at the rows of smartly dressed people in tears, his eyes finally coming to rest on Jack and Ianto "Someone knows something about her death that they're not telling anyone. I know. Because Lois..."

He trailed off mid-sentence and quickly jumped down, returning to his seat. But he wasn't crying. He just looked angry. It was Jacks turn to go up now, and he felt nervous. He'd never felt this nervous before, and he'd been in some sticky situations. But getting up and walking to the front. It was worse than being caught between a rock and a hard place. All those eyes on him. The friends and family of a much-loved girl who didn't deserve to die.

"Hello, My name is Captain Jack Harkness, and Lois used to babysit my daughter. In fact, she was babysitting her when she, she," He took a deep breath "I believe Lois died trying to protect my daughter. Which she did. And because of that, I will forever be in debt to her. What happened it her- It was truly awful, and if it's anyone's fault it's mine. She was looking after my child, and if we hadn't employed her, she'd still be alive. At least, that's what I think," He looked over at her family, who were still in floods of tears. He gulped "I'm sorry,"

As he stepped down, a phone went off. It was Jayden's.

"Lois! You got a tweet from Tyler and Josh they-" He realised he was speaking aloud and quickly leaped up, running out of the church.

Something wasn't quite right about him. It was just a hunch, but Jack could just sense it. That kid knew something.

The funeral ended with a song by Twenty One Pilots, who had been Lois's favourite band. It was called Migraine. Which was quite appropriate, because that's what Jack had now, after feeling sick for the entire service. He just wanted to go back to the hub and bury himself in some work.


End file.
